The Meaning of Easter

Growing up Easter often meant waking early to go see what treasure awaits me, then being rushed off to church to watch someone dressed in a loin cloth marched down the aisle, be fitted with a crown of thorns, and then “nailed to a cross”. This was followed by juice and crackers, a few prayers and hymns, and then being rushed home to watch the grown ups prepare for guests.

I’m not knocking the way I was brought up, for many years these traditions meant a great deal to me, and I sincerely appreciate my parents trying to instill a sense of belonging and kinship to a higher power and purpose. They wanted me to have a sense of morality, and they chose their favored approach to present it to me, and it is under this guidance that I think I’ve become a fairly upstanding, sensitive, and decent human being.

Having severed many of my ties to the religious communities in recent years Easter has taken on a different meaning for me. Easter is now a time of personal reflection and preparation. More often than not Easter falls on the first nice weekend of the year. Trees are budding, birds are singing, winter jackets are put away and everything is new.

I often spend a portion of Easter reflecting upon my winter, and mentally preparing for the tasks and growth that will accompany the spring and summer seasons. This year I am lucky enough to do that reflecting while sitting on the patio of my own home, surrounded by a yard that I feel in the coming months will become somewhat of an oasis. We have begun the work and the plans for gardens, and seating areas, and just making it ours. I’m really looking forward to the time of growth and learning that I think all of this work will bring for both of us.

I hope that you are all able to celebrate this weekend, happily, in the fashion of your choosing. I hope that you will be surrounded by people that you love, and traditions that make you happy. But most of all I hope you find time to reflect on yourself and experience your own inner peace and happiness.